Thursday, January 31, 2013

Despite its enormous popularity, including with the ladies in my book club, I thought that Abraham Verghese's hefty novel, Cutting for Stone was only so-so. It is an interesting story about two brothers and their families – natural and adopted – but it went on too long for me and the medical details weighed it down.

The story really gets going with the traumatic birth of twin brothers, Shiva and Marion, at Missing Hospital in Ethiopia. The sons of an Indian nun and a British surgeon, both boys grow up to become doctors. Their story has roots in India, takes them to New York and Boston, embroils them in the political upheavals in Ethiopia, and tears the brothers apart over a woman before uniting them for good.

The multiple storylines are absorbing. But when they all spectacularly converge, the climax is startlingly hard to believe and throws off the pacing of the rest of the book.

Cutting for Stone is worthwhile, but would have benefited from a stronger hand on the editing reigns.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Only rarely do I stray from my book lists when choosing what to read. When I do, it is with mixed results. Maybe my book club will pick something that I never heard of, but end up enjoying immensely (The Imperfectionists by Tim Rachman). Or I hear about a book and buy it on impulse (Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott) and love it. Or a cover catches my eye at a library book sale, and I read something I wish I hadn't.

Many readers might find this story-within-a-story novel to be charmingly quirky and refreshingly sassy. Unfortunately for me, what was supposed be quirky came across as cheeky and what might seem sassy to others felt too cute by half to me.

The novel looks back at the life of Ariane Lodkochnikov as she tells her story to her childhood family friend, Peter Leroy, over a series of evening visits. In dialogue irritatingly stilted for reasons apparent later, they discussed her life in seaside Babbington, from clam shack waitress, to small-town floozy, through several reinventions of herself, to her ultimate role as an international phenomenon.

The back cover describes the novel as a "fascinating meditation on human urge to tell and hear stories" and that storytelling theme is writ large throughout the narrative. However, because the book begins with a "prologue" by Leroy explaining that Ariane is his imaginary childhood friend, the whole thing feels like watching a parlor trick when you already know how it's done.

OTHER REVIEWS

If you would like your review of this book listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it. But since there are no reviews on amazon, it seems unlikely that other bloggers have reviews to share.

NOTES

I bought this because the cover caught my eye. I read it because I set up my 2013 TBR challenges to read though one of my TBR shelves at random. There is a lesson in this.

Normally, I never buy a brand new book because it takes me years to
get around to reading any book I buy -- I like to let them shelf age for
a while, like wine -- so I might as well wait and find a used copy.

But Ian McEwan
is such a favorite of mine, and his new book fits into a favorite niche
of mine (Cold War, British espionage) that I couldn't resist. So I
have a brand new hardback just waiting to be cracked open. I should get
to it by 2016.

Saturday, January 26, 2013

2012 was the third year I participated in this challenge. In 2010, I bit off more than I could chew, signing up for six books and only finishing four. So I scaled back in 2011 to the "Chubby Chunkster" four-book level.

Despite my less than stellar performance in years past, I signed up for the Do These Books Make my Butt Look Big? option to read SIX chunksters from the following categories: two books 450 - 550 pages; two books 551 - 750 pages; and two books longer than 750 pages.

I am so pleased that I actually completed this challenge! It really got me inspired to read a couple of doorstops that have been sitting on my TBR shelves for too long. I even finished an extra book.

Friday, January 25, 2013

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, please tweet a link to your post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. You can find me @GilionDumas. I have tried to follow everyone who participates, but if I missed you, please send me a direct tweet as a gentle reminder. I also recently signed up for Google+ and have a circle of book bloggers. Please let us know if we can find you there as well.

MR. LINKY: Please leave a link to your post below. If you don't have a blog, but want to participate, please leave a comment with your Book Beginning.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

Edith Lewis got out her easel and watercolors and set them up near the edge of the bluff in front of their cottage on Whale Cove.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Katharine Graham deservedly won the Pulitzer Prize for her autobiography, Personal History. Graham lived a fascinating life, from her childhood of wealth and privilege, through her tumultuous marriage to Phil Graham that ended in his suicide, to her increasingly powerful role at the helm of the Washington Post Company.

Graham's father bought the Washington Post in 1933. Her husband ran it during their marriage. When she took over after his death, she had no real work experience, no concept of the magnitude of her new job, and little support from the male-dominated publishing industry.

Learning as she went, and making many mistakes along the way, Graham grew the Washington Post Company into a media powerhouse. Under her watch, the company went public, became famous -- or infamous -- for its coverage of the Watergate scandal, and broke the unions' stranglehold of the newspaper industry after a five-month strike.

Throughout these busy years, Graham also maintained a dizzying social and community life. She traveled extensively, held positions on several professional and academic boards, and hobnobbed with politicians and other prominent figures, including among her friends the likes of Truman Capote, Henry Kissinger, and Warren Buffett.

Her first-hand account is crisply written, unflinching, and honest, but always dignified. She discusses her family relationships and friendships, but without any intimate details. The focus most definitely is on her public and professional life, which makes it all the more interesting.

OTHER REVIEWS

If you would like your review of Personal History listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it.

NOTES

I've been meaning to read Personal History for years and finally got around to it to complete the 2012 Chunkster Challenge.

Christopher Priest's novel is the story of two rival magicians at the turn of the 20th Century, vying to outdo each other in an illusion featuring a disappearing man. Both have secrets that follow them to the grave – and beyond – that are only revealed when their grandchildren meet up decades later.

Because Priest is such a first class storyteller, he created a drama that is entirely believable – no matter how scientifically farfetched – and mesmerizing, even for readers who know the secrets from the movie. I was completely entranced.

Even though The Prestige runs contrary to many of my book prejudices, it could end up as my favorite book of 2013 – pretty big words, considering it is only January.

OTHER REVIEWS

If you would like your review of this book listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

As a result of spending all her time in college with Raj, she continued, she did not make many close friends. There was no one to confide in about him at the end of a difficult day, or to share a passing thought or a worry.

Friday, January 18, 2013

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, please tweet a link to your post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I also recently signed up for Google+ and have a button over there in the right-hand column to join my circles or whatever it is. I don't really understand yet how that one works.

MR. LINKY: Please leave a link to your post below. If you don't have a blog, but want to participate, please leave a comment with your Book Beginning.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

The notice informed then that it was a temporary matter: for five days their electricity would be cut off for one hour, beginning at eight P.M.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Here it is, delayed and without links. From the book I started on the plane.

She had spent the whole first week of the occupation in a kind of trance almost resembling happiness. After roaming the streets with her camera, she would hand the rolls of film to foreign journalists, who actually fought over them

-- The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera.

I never read this when it was so popular. Which is why it is on my list for the TBR challenges I'm doing this year.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Because the instrumental version is etched on my brainpan, every time I hear Johnny Hartman singing, I'm a little startled. It always feels to me that the lyrics were added later, like color added to a classic black-and-white movie.

Which may be why I now focus so hard on the lyrics when I hear the song. There's a whole novel in there. A whole novel of lost romance, Paris, booze, good times, and sad living. Jazz as literature.

LUSH LIFE

music and lyrics by Billy Strayhorn

I used to visit all the very gay places,
those come-what-may places,
where one relaxes on the axis of the wheel of life
to get the feel of life – from jazz and cocktails.

The girls I knew had sad and sullen gray faces,
with distingué traces that used to be there.
You could see where they'd been washed away
by too many through the day twelve o'clocktails

Then you came along with your siren song
to tempt me to madness.
I thought for awhile that your poignant smile
was tinged with the sadness of a great love for me.

Ah yes, I was wrong;
again, I was wrong.

Life is lonely, again, and only last year
everything seemed so sure.
Now life is awful, again,
a trough full of hearts could only be a bore.

A week in Paris could ease the bite of it;
all I care is to smile in spite of it.

I'll forget you, I will, while yet you are still
burning inside my brain romance is mush,
stifling those who strive.

I'll live a lush life in some small dive.
And there I'll be
while I rot with the rest of those
whose lives are lonely too.

Friday, January 11, 2013

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.

TWITTER, ETC:If you are on Twitter, please tweet a link to your post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I also recently signed up for Google+ and have a button over there in the right-hand column to join my circles or whatever it is. I don't really understand yet how that one works.

MR. LINKY: Please leave a link to your post below. If you don't have a blog, but want to participate, please leave a comment with your Book Beginning.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

The sad exposition of the struggle for justice against the Roman Catholic Church in Delaware begins with the funeral of Douglas McClure, who was the nicest person I have ever known.

This isn't light reading, but it is an honest and sadly fascinating study of the effects of childhood sexual abuse as well as the history of abuse within the Catholic Church. Neuberger used sworn testimony from jury trials and court documents to tell the stories of several abuse survivors.

I work with adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. So often, the most important step in their healing is just to be able to tell their story. Neuberger's book recognizes the power of coming forward and letting go of the shame so many victims have carried since they were kids.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

This is my very last State of the Blog post. I used these quarterly blog assessment posts to keep track of the progress I've made on my various lists -- Prize Winners and Must Reads, Favorite Authors, and Challenges. They have been useful for me because they make me update my lists, but they are not interesting.

My final set of State of the Blog posts wrapped up my 2012 reading. I'll think of some other way to stay organized and keep my lists updated.

This third part deals with the challenges I joined in 2012. Part One, here, addressed my lists of Prize Winners and Must Reads. Part Two, here, looked at my Favorite Author lists.

Not all of my 2012 challenges are finished yet because a couple of them don't end until the end of this month.

The Chunkster Challenge doesn't end until the end of this month. I will finish Personal Historyby Katharine Graham this week, so will complete this challenge. I fell short of finishing the Tea & Books Challenge by one book.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

This is my last round of State of the Blog posts. I've used these quarterly blog assessment posts to keep track of the progress I've made on my various lists -- Prize Winners and Must Reads, Favorite Authors, and Challenges. They have been useful for me because they make me update my lists, but they are not particularly interesting posts.

This final set of State of the Blog posts will wrap up my 2012 reading. Then I will think of some other way to stay organized and keep my lists updated.

This second part looks at my Favorite Author lists. Part One, here, addressed my lists of Prize Winners and Must Reads. Part Three will deal with the challenges I joined in 2012.

I only listed a Favorite Author below if I read one of his or her books in 2012.